Most influential Player

[westernnugget]

Who is the eagles most influential player apart from judd,

I think embley is, plays anyway and everywhere great mark very physical gota love him.

 

[larrikin]

Gardiner - without a doubt.

Probably even more so than Judd in that we do have the depth to cover Judd to an extent, we don't have anyone else that can do the things (and I'm not talking ruck work) that Gardiner can do

 

[Exeter]

Probably going to get flamed for this but I value Fletch more highly than Judd

 

[Mead]

I think one of the really good things about the way this team is shaping is that it hopefully isn't too reliant on any one player anymore, because we've learnt to play without an ultra dominant ruckman (or perhaps found another one?)

Gardiner and Embley are still both very important because they are pretty much the only consistent contested mark threats we have. With them, we tend to dominate kick-in situations after behinds, without, the opposition rebounds the ball easily- given the amount of times we tend to pump the ball in there, those two guys are often the game turners.

IMO, the midfielders are really a dime a dozen in terms of their influence. The frequency of Cousin's and Judd's genuinely outstanding games might be higher, but the great thing about the the Cousins/Judd/Kerr/Fletch rotation is that on average, one or two play a blinder each week- which two doesn't really matter all that much. The only exception to that is Cuz's ability to be consistent on the road, and the enormous amount of defensive attention Judd attracts.

In terms of the player you would most want available and fully fit for a win-at-all-costs elim final type game, I'd most want the following available in this order.

At Subi.
1. Embley- for running the lines, versatility, contested marking, and 'crunch time' ability. He's really the prototype subiaco tall, too big and quick for anyone to handle.
2. Gardiner- Contested marking contested marking contested marking, not to mention his brilliant ruck taps.
3. Judd - Just the freak factor and the way he frees up other midfielders by taking the tags- at subi, Judd is one of the reasons guys like Fletch tend to play well- also maybe a 20% chance that he'll have a day where he utterly destroys the other team no matter what.

Away
1. Gardiner- For obvious reasons. At a ground like TD, dominating in the ruck and taking contested marks counts for everything.
2. Cousins- Is mr reliable on the road, seems to get better and more inspirational when other midfielders are off their game.
3. Embley- Contested marking, never say die attitude.

I think the next guy outside those is Cox- he's made a very low key transition from being a solid role player to one of the guys who carries the team each week.

 

[Exeter]

One of these days Mead you're going to give a single word answer to a question without writing a treatise.

Hope I'm there to see it.

Bloody lawyers.

 

[Mead]

One of these days Mead you're going to give a single word answer to a question without writing a treatise.

Hope I'm there to see it.

Bloody lawyers.

Perhaps so, but then you'd have to ask what you mean by 'one of these days'?

I think its likely that most of my really big writes are on the days at the start or the end of the week, either straight after games when there is lots to talk about or in the last day or so before the next round begins when the withdrawal symptoms really kick in.I think its interesting to note that bigfooty actually averages around 2-3 times more posts on mondays and fridays than it does on the remaining 3 week days. I don't know if anyone is inclined to check but perhaps that trend also extends to other footy websites?

So yes, if by 'one of these days' you mean friday, then actually you might be wrong. But I suppose the post size might also increase on wet and rainy days like today when it's cold and wet and I'm too much of a pussy to leave the house. If anything, I consider myself one of the few west coast associated individuals who is a wet weather specialist, rather similar to Jeremy Humm in that regard. He played one very very good game against the Kangas at subi a few years ago (2003 rd 13) when it was absolutely pelting down.

his stats for that game- 2 marks, 2 tackles and 13 disposals,
his career averages- 1.8 marks, 1.5 tackles and 7.5 disposals a game.

but I think that even that fairly obvious difference doesn't really reflect how well he played that day- he had a significant influence of the clearances and was involved in a lot of in and under stuff.

I think that the reason for that waslikely because wet weather footy tends to act as a 'skills equaliser' where the congested packs and slippery conditions lead to everyone being pretty much left on par with respect to their actual pace or skills or whatever. By the same token, I think its likely that when its raining in perth, more people would be likely to post, leading to congested message boards, as well as some kind of cooling effect on the brain causing people to think slower and be less inclined to go and do something with their life rather than posting. As a result, people like me find themselves more inclined to post even longer and wordier and more pointless things than usual.

So in response to your question, personally I think that it is very unlikely that I'll ever give a single word answer on 'one of these days', whether it is friday or just wet weather days. Furthermore, its probably worth noting - I just realised you didn't actually ask a question, so, uh, as you were I guess?

 

[larrikin]

A lawyer and comic genius to boot, your real name isn't Shaun Micallef is it?

 

[Exeter]

Sorry Mead, I nodded off there for a minute.

What were you saying?

 

[Mead]

Sorry Mead, I nodded off there for a minute.

What were you saying?

Thats okay. What I was saying was that you'd have to ask what you mean by 'one of these days'?

I think its likely that most of my really big writes are on the days at the start or the end of the week, either straight after games when there is lots to talk about or in the last day or so before the next round begins when the withdrawal symptoms really kick in.I think its interesting to note that bigfooty actually averages around 2-3 times more - ah bugger it, you're no fun.

 

[bluey17]

One of these days Mead you're going to give a single word answer to a question without writing a treatise.

Hope I'm there to see it.

Bloody lawyers.

hahahaha

 

[eaglesgurl]

I'd have to say Benny Cousins. What an inspirational leader he is!

 

[jarman]

Cousins leads from the front. McDougall is your softest player and does stuff all.

 

[bunsen burner]

Okay, time to bring out the big guns.


Trent Caroll.

 

[larrikin]

Cousins leads from the front. McDougall is your softest player and does stuff all.

Thanks for your informed opinion, but a question - have you actually watched the guy play?

You can accuse McDougall of many things - having butter fingers, being a less reliable kick that Peter Sumich etc etc, but being soft is not something that comes into the equasion.

It's a typical comment of an ill-informed peanut who has heard someone say 3 years ago that "McDougall is soft" and based their opinion on the guys hair style rather than what they do on the football field

 

[jod23]

Mead is amusing

Our most influential player??? Take your pick out of Cousins, Gardiner, Judd and Embley.

 

[Frodo]

I'd say Cuz because he can lift the whole side.

I'll disagree with Gardiner. IMHO Gardy is a brilliant ruckman who isn't rucking. I also thought that Hansen showed he was a better CHF than Gardy, yesterday. Far more mobile. With Gardy at FF he gets the ball punched away too easily.

Potentially, if and when he is back to the ruck and fully fit, he could be our most influential player, but for now, no way.